Friday, July 21, 2023

Trolls-Part 1

Hi everyone. Happy Friday. 

Last week I went to Boothbay Harbor, Maine to  visit the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens with a couple of friends.  It's just over a 2 hour trip from my house to the garden, so we left early and came home that evening, having a fun day trip.

I had visited these gardens in September of 2021, but the 2 friends I traveled with last week had never been there. They really wanted to go see the trolls. The trolls are wooden sculptures by Danish artist Thomas Dambo. He has built various  trolls worldwide. They are made of wood and are not meant to be around for many  decades because the wood eventually  will rot. At these gardens in Maine, he built 5 trolls, all known as the Guardians of the Seeds. Each troll has a specific role in plant structure. 

I enjoyed this trip because 1) it was great to see the trolls again and how they have weathered in the last couple of years and 2) the gardens were quite different it being July when there is so much in bloom compared to mid/late September when I last went.

Let me share some troll photos from this visit. They might look familiar to some of you long time readers as I shared photos of these trolls back in the fall of 2021 after that visit.

Here's the first troll I'm sharing,. This troll is Soren, for the branches.




I love his "hair".




And here's the second troll. Gro is for the leaves.


She's the only one of the trolls at this garden with closed eyes.










I am linking these up to Nicole's FRiday Face Off and Gillena's Friday Lunch Break.

Besides trolls we saw some beautiful flowers too. And not to overdo the trolls,  let me finish off this post with a few photos of the gardens. I'll share the rest of the trolls next Friday.






Here's the garden's website if you're interested: Coastal Maine Botanical Garden.

Have a great start to your weekend.






27 comments:

Tom said...

...I have featured Thomas Dambo work that I found on the internet. I actually see his work in person is fabulous. Thanks Erika for sharing.

Gillena Cox said...

Happy trolls and flowers. Nice. Have a good weekend
Thank you gor linking to AFFF today.

Much💜love

Iris Flavia said...

Wow, the Trolls are truly "great" - thank you for sharing!
Have a great day, hugs

Valerie-Jael said...

Hi Erika, I adore those trolls, the artist has so much talent. The flowers are gorgeous, too, especially the one with the bee. That's another place I would love to visit! Have a great Friday, hugs, Valerie

sirkkis said...

Wonderful faces from wenderful places 🤩
Thanks for sharing your lovely flower photos as well,happy weekend my friend 😘🍓

Gene Black said...

Soren's face reminds me of a matchstick jewelry box that I made in high school.

Christine said...

Great photos!

CJ Kennedy said...

I remember those sculptures so fun. You can't help but smile when you look at them. Gorgeous flowers, too.

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Cool faces! Soren is my fave! Love the bee photos too.

Angie's Recipes said...

Wish we had something like this here...really cool wood sculptures!

DVArtist said...

Ohhhhh..... these are just stunning. I so wish I lived by you. I have this weird/strange connection to trolls. I know, I know I am just to weird and strange. I love love love these. Thank you for sharing these and the gardens with FFO. Have a lovely day.

kathyinozarks said...

Wow the sculptures are amazing, enjoyed the flower photos too Happy Friday hugs Kathy

peppylady (Dora) said...

I smiled at every photo.
Coffee is on, and stay safe.

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

My internet friend Helen goes to Kew every week (in London) and they had two trolls on loan for awhile. I was surprised to see these were permanent. I love them.

I really LOVED the flower with the bee. Just awesome. Hope your Friday is going great. We are under a t-storm watch.

Aimeslee Winans said...

Hi Erika, wow - Dambo's skill and craftsmanship is amazing! Great troll angles and nice flower photos from you as well. Hope your weekend is loverly! xoxo

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

Just read your question about the high temps for my herbs. The majority of my herbs are originally from the Mediterranean, so they thrive on heat and humidity. Not sure about the Bergamot (Bee Balm) or the peppermint, but my cilantro, mint, and dill have overwintered on my outdoor table in past years. Thanks for asking. Have a fabulous Saturday, dear.

David M. Gascoigne, said...

Someone has a fevered imagination, I see! I am encouraged that the artist has left the wood untreated so that it will ultimately decay and return to to the soil as it should. In the meantime we can scare the pants off our kids with these trolls! Hugs - David

Liz Hinds said...

Wow! I was expecting little dwtty things not these giants! How amazing.

carol l mckenna said...

Wonderful wooden carved statue and botanicals ~ fun time ~

Wishing you good health, laughter and love in your days,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Erika, the flowers at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens were lovely, but admittedly those trolls are what I would want to see! It's not that flowers are't lovely but can be enjoyed in many places, now trolls are something different!

Andrea @ From The Sol said...

We had a Thomas Dambo Troll display at our Arboretum several years ago ... they were here about two years and then removed (I thought at the time that they were taken elsewhere, but from your comments perhaps they don't keep long enough to be moved about). Our trolls were different than yours but the artwork is very familiar. And, your flower photo's, especially the one with the bee, are spectacular. Lovely post, Erika ...

Andrea @ From the Sol

Stevenson Q said...

Growing up my cousins from California would send us little trolls and my brothers will use those to scare me! But these ones are actually very beautiful Erika! The wood gives it a very earthy feel and makes it very natural! Oh Gardens always entices me to visit. Just this week I spent a week in Morocco for vacation it was 105-110F in the afternoon but it was dry heat so it wasnt as bad as Philippine Humid summers to be honest but a beautiful Garden near the royal Palace was my favorite spot in Fes because it really has a different climate under all the trees! Thank you for these beautiful flowers!

Lowcarb team member said...

WOW! What a great place to visit.
The trolls are wonderful and the flowers beautiful.
Great photographs, thank you.

Happy weekend wishes.

All the best Jan

Anne (cornucopia) said...

Those troll statues are fantastic!

Carola Bartz said...

The trolls, especially the first one, remind me of Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are". Wonderful that the wood is untreated and the trolls will evetually rot away. The gardens are beautiful with stunning flowers. That combination of pink and orange is stunning.

Jeanie said...

Oh Erika, the flowers are pretty but the trolls are fabulous! What terrific skill with these -- -massive and marvelous!

NatureFootstep said...

wow, these are amazing. How on earth did he manage to create them?